Closed

[bussounoshima]

Who: Sharak and Konzen, Sharak and the other hot blond too many Sanzos just too many
What: Two grown ass adults at Capyper Land, both swear they have a good reason for being there. Also: Sanzo party without the party and with extra Sanzo flavouring
When: May 9th, May 8th late afternoon, May 10th evening
Where: Capyper Land, Kanzeon's temple, does Tokyo even have dive bars
Warnings: Because they're at an amusement park for children and the happiest place on Earth, we must include warnings for gun violence, swearing, mention of child death and reckless child endangerment. But like, in a fun way.


[It's a courtesy call, really. Genjo had been pretty worn out after their chat the other night and Sharak wants to see how he's doing. After their discussion, she's pretty sure she knows where to find him too... And so she walks up to Kanzeon's temple and lets herself into the front yard.

Even if she can't find the Genjo she's thinking of, she wouldn't mind speaking to the other one. It really depends on which one she finds first.]



[She'd been asked to look into a childish spirit wandering around a theme park looking miserable so... Here she is. Sharak still isn't keen on this "God" business, but the best way to learn what's going on is occasionally to play along. For now, anyway. "Aditi" is everyone's mother and so of course she cares for lost children in need of protection. Sharak, on the other hand, is certainly no mother... But she's not opposed to protecting children anyway.

For now Sharak is stood by the wall outside a restaurant opposite a particularly large rollercoaster, watching the children run around screaming with an indulgent look in her eye. Maybe this isn't so bad.]

Comments

[bussounoshima]

There might be one or two things.

[She's just looking at her glass, tilting it back and forth and watching the whisky roll around idly. This is a casual conversation between colleagues, definitely.]

But you said you wanted to compare notes. You can start.

[existentialcrisis]

[ Ukoku chuckles into his drink—she's definitely a colleague—and then pauses, looking away. He draws his thumb across his lower lip while he thinks.

There's no reason to talk about the place he just said she's never going back to, right? Probably. ]

There was a coup attempt about three weeks ago by a new god. Replacement god, fake god, whatever you want to call it. One of Genjo's friends, the kid, Goku, went kind of out of his mind. He killed a lot of people, gods and shinki. As far as I know, it was mostly old gods trying to stop him who died, and there was already tension between them and us. Afterwards, the Heavens took him into custody. One of the people who went to get him back, by force, was Genjo's friend Hakkai. Amaterasu gave a little speech about, as I recall, how it wouldn't be fair to punish a shinki for a god's actions, and both of them are still here, but their gods were wiped off the face of the earth. [ A pause. ] So to speak. What is that if not removing a problem? And Genjo's been talking all over the place about reasons it's better for shinki to have multiple gods, which, as far as I can tell, is both nearly unheard of and considered a dangerous opinion.

The point is, you may have a target on your back. I realize you're probably used to it.

[bussounoshima]

[Well that's a far more detailed account of what went down than Genjo gave her the first night. Give Sharak a second to process that and fill in the gaps with what Genjo did tell her. None of it's really unbelievable. Honestly she's surprised just Hakkai went to get Goku back.]

... Thanks for the warning. [Goddamnit, Genjo. What have you been doing.] But it sounds like you're taking a bigger risk than me, being one of his gods.

[Maybe you should just quit doing that huh]

[existentialcrisis]

[ Haha, nah. ]

Oh, don't worry. [ Because she's…totally worrying… ] I've taken some steps to mitigate it. If they want to get rid of me anyway, I guess that's what'll happen.

[bussounoshima]

[take the fucking name off take it off]

And what steps would those be?

[existentialcrisis]

Steps.

[ Quid pro quo, Clarice. ]

I'd let you borrow them, but it was kind of a one-time thing.

[bussounoshima]

I'm not interested in borrowing them, my shinki is very well-behaved.

[Somewhere Kainé is very offended, no doubt. Also: fuck it, Ukoku knows what she wants.]

The game is over, Ukoku, remove the name.

[existentialcrisis]

No.

[ There's no hesitation, no pretense of thinking about it. He looks at her steadily over the top of his glass. ]

It doesn't hurt him.

[bussounoshima]

No.

[Bull fucking shit it doesn't hurt him. But at least she won't say that much.]

But I'm giving you a chance to remove it now anyway.

[existentialcrisis]

Not interested, thank you.—Oh! Wait. [ He slaps the edge of the table, suddenly. ] What do I get out of it?

[bussounoshima]

You get me not slamming your head into this table, repeatedly, until it cracks open.

[Has she been visualizing this for the past few minutes? Possibly.]

You won't get a better offer today.

[existentialcrisis]

[ He laughs, leaning back in his chair. ]

You're cute.

[ Like, actually probably the most attractive thing she's said so far, great job. ]

I'll tell you what: you get him to have all of his other gods, whoever they are, release him—then I'll do it.

[bussounoshima]

You're not.

[He's like every condescending creep she's ever had to put up with wrapped around a dark pit of nothing. Anyway, could she make that happen? Probably, if she put the effort in and explained it to them. But what's Ukoku's angle?]

What, you don't know who they are?

[existentialcrisis]

[ His angle is stalling and nah, but it's a good theory. ]

I have no idea. It's none of my business. [ Ha ha. ]

[bussounoshima]

No, it isn't.

[Oh, look, they agree. Her first offer is starting to look like her best option here.]

You really are a disgrace.

[existentialcrisis]

Yeah, probably.

[ He takes a drag and looks off toward the bar—or past it, somewhere out of focus. When he looks back at her it's with a much more tranquil humor. ]

Does it bother you?

[bussounoshima]

[She wants a cigarette or even to finally drink some of the whisky sitting untouched in her hand. But no, not yet.]

People have died because of it, so yes.

[Human lives, youkai lives, centuries of relative peace, all thrown away. Fuck yes it bothers her.]

[existentialcrisis]

[ He eyes her for a moment, choosing his words. ]

What are you talking about, the minus wave? That wasn't me. It happened before I was brought on; if I had to guess, I'd say they tried to do something to their first sutra. I wasn't in Shangri-La at the time.

[bussounoshima]

[Eyes him back. Is she supposed to believe that? Really?]

Whether or not you started it, you were involved. You allowed them to continue abusing the sutras. You failed in your duties.

[existentialcrisis]

They probably shouldn't have given me a sutra in the first place. The system could use an overhaul.

[ He's looking more at other things than her, now; his thoughts are visibly drifting. ]

The resurrection experiment will never work, if it makes you feel better.

[bussounoshima]

No, I don't think it will.

[Which actually doesn't make her feel better.]

The youkai think they're fighting a war for supremacy, but if it keeps up as it is they're going to lose. [Gyokumen Koushu doesn't give a shit about the rest of her species.] And when that happens, they'll likely be driven extinct or close enough.

[existentialcrisis]

[ His gaze flicks back to her, flat and inscrutable. ]

Well, you're a Sanzo. [ He gestures to her with his glass, which is mostly ice, now. ] Let's hear your solution.

[bussounoshima]

[What is her plan? It had been to trust in the Genjo Sanzo-party and try to pick up the pieces wherever they lay when the fighting was done. Now they're here, Genjo was fired and there's a War God out to finish the job for them.]

... What I've been doing. Protect who I can.

[existentialcrisis]

[ That's not a plan, he almost says, but she has to know that. ]

So eventually they'll come for your sutra. [ He shakes at his empty glass, then glances at her, brightening a little. Hypotheticals are fun!! ] If they haven't already. If I were you, I'd sell me out to the youkai. You know, whoever shows up. They don't know I have a sutra. At least a few will have to go report it, and if you're lucky, they'll call everyone back when they realize I'm gone and they're at an impasse. And then they'll have to go looking for my corpse, I guess. It's probably in the woods somewhere.

[bussounoshima]

[Look, her plan was to raise an army and march on Houtou castle, okay, her plan was solid.]

That's an idea. But if Muten is laying in the woods somewhere, it's probably a better idea to find it before they do. They'll keep attacking me for Kouten anyway.

[Sharak leans back in her chair. She really doesn't think Ukoku's dead.] I could do with cheering up now. So, how'd your corpse end up in the woods?